Quick and Easy Dinner

You have seen it here before. When in doubt, I toss a bunch of my favorite things with pasta and call it dinner. It is a bit of a crazy week for our little family. Mark is finishing up his final deliverables for grad school (this program seems to never end!) and work for both of us has picked up full steam. So last night, I was on a mission to simplify our meals for the week with a big pot of something.

I rummaged through our cabinets refridgerator and found every ingredient that would work with pasta:

garlic

a jar artichike hearts

three half empty jars of olives

roasted red peppers

sun dried tomatoes

a pint of cherry tomatoes screaming to be used

chicken broth

and of course, my whole wheat penne

I decided against the roasted red peppers and sundried tomatoes for this round, but surly they will be making an appearance soon. First up, I sauted garlic in some butter, roughly chopped the olives and artichokes and tossed them in the mix. Next, I quartered the tomatoes, all the while bringing a second pot of chicken broth to a boil to cook the pasta. A long time ago, some cooking show host taught me this little trick, cooking your pasta (or rice) in broth give a boost of flavor that is sometimes needed. Once everything was good and ready, I tossed it together.

This is the base for our meals for the week. I might add a bit of cheese, Mark likes to add red sauce. He is a sauce guy. I might even add some chicken later in the week if I have time. But either way, we have a big batch for when we need to grab a bite for lunch or dinner this week.

And did you see? I found a great deal on the perfect staub, and couldn't be happier with my new workhorse!